Visits to the Most Holy Sacrament and to the Blessed Virgin MaryVisit 31

To the Blessed Sacrament.
Aly Lord Jesus Christ, page 123,

Oh, how beautiful a sight was it to behold our sweet Redeemer on that day when, fatigued by his journey, he sat down, all engaging and loving, beside the well to await the Samaritan woman, that he might convert and

1 Mater orphanorum.”—Psalt. min. B. V.

* Quis invocavit earn, et non est exauditus ab ipsa?”—De Ass. B.V.s. 2. save her! Jesus, therefore, sat thus on the well.’ It is precisely thus that this same Lord seems sweetly to dwell with us all the day long, having come down from heaven upon our altars as upon so many fountains of graces, where he awaits and invites souls to keep him company, at least for a while, that he may thus draw them to his perfect love. From every altar on which Jesus remains in the Most Holy Sacrament he seems to speak and address all, saying: O men! why do you fly my presence? Why do you not come and draw near to me, who love you so much, and who remain thus annihilated for your sake? Why do you fear? I am not now come on earth to judge; but I have hid myself in this Sacrament of love only to do good, and to save all who have recourse to me: I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

Let us, then, understand, that as Jesus Christ in heaven is always living to make intercession for us,’ so in the Sacrament of the Altar he is continually, both night and day, exercising the compassionate office of our Advocate; offering himself as a victim for us to the Eternal Father, thus to obtain for us his mercies and innumerable graces, Therefore the devout Thomas a Kempis says, that we ought to approach and converse with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament without the fear of chastisement, and unrestrained, as to a beloved friend, “as one who loves speaks to his beloved, as a friend to a friend.”¹ °

Since, then, Thou thus givest me permission, let me, O my hidden King and Lord, now open my heart to Thee with confidence, and say: O my Jesus! O enamoured of souls, I well know the injustice that men do Thee. Thou lovest them, and art not beloved by them; Thou doest good, and receivest contempt; Thou desirest to make them hear Thy voice, and they give Thee no ear; Thou offerest them Thy graces, and they refuse them. Ah, my Jesus! and is it true that I also at one time joined these ungrateful creatures in thus displeasing Thee? O God, it is but too true? But I am determined to amend, and to endeavor during the time that I still have to live, to make up for the displeasure which I have caused Thee, by doing all that I possibly can to please Thee and to give Thee pleasure. Tell me, Lord, what Thou askest of me, I will execute all without any reserve: make it known to me by the means of holy obedience, and I hope to do it. My God, I now resolutely promise Thee that I will never, from this day forward, omit anything which I know to be, rather than another, pleasing to Thee, even were I thereby to lose all—parents, friends, esteem, health, and even life. Let all perish, provided Thou art pleased. Happy is that loss, when all is lost and sacrificed to satisfy Thy heart, O God of my soul! I love Thee, O sovereign good, worthy of love above every other good; and in loving Thee I unite my poor heart to all the hearts with which the seraphim love Thee; I unite it to the heart of Mary, to the Heart of Jesus. I love Thee with my entire self; Thee alone will I love, and Thee alone will I always love.

Ejaculatory prayer. My God, my God! I am Thine, and Thou art mine!
Spiritual Communion, page 124.
Visit to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Blessed Amadeus says that our most blessed Queen, Mary, is always in the divine presence, acting as our advocate, and interposing with God by her prayers, which are most powerful: “The most blessed Virgin stands before the face of her Creator, interceding with her most powerful prayers for us. For,” he adds, “she well sees our miseries and our dangers, and the most clement and sweet Lady compassionates and succors us with a mother’s love.” ?

Thou, my advocate and my most loving Mother, thou even now seest the miseries of my soul; thou seest my dangers, and prayest for me. Pray, pray, and cease not to pray, until thou seest me saved and thanking thee in heaven: The devout Blosius tells me that thou, O most sweet Mary, art, after Jesus, the certain salvation of those who are thy faithful servants.” Ah! this grace I now ask thee: grant me the happy lot of being thy faithful servant until death; that after death I may go to bless thee in heaven, where I shall be certain never more, as long as God is God, to leave thy sacred feet. . Ejaculatory prayer. O Mary, my Mother, grant that I may be ever thine!

[From the Naples Edition.]

O Mary, thou art the tower of David, and therefore art able to defend those who take refuge under thee. Protect all who are engaged in the contest. I experience continual assaults from my enemies, who are striving to deprive me of the grace of God, and to withdraw me from thy protection. But thou art the fortress and the bulwark of our hope; thou dost not disdain to fight in behalf of those who trust in thee. O Mary, defend me, then, against all my enemies, and fight my battles for me, because I rely with confidence on thee.²

Ejaculatory prayer. O Mary, thou art my protectress.
The usual prayer, page 125.
My Good, my God, all mine Thou art;
Myself I give Thee, all my heart;
For Thee, and Thee alone, I sigh.

What have I in heaven? and besides Thee, what do I desire upon earth? Thou art the God of my heart, and the God that is my portion forever